Judging from the pre-fight promotional material, the UFC expected Edmen Shahbazyan to walk through Derek Brunson and launch himself into the middleweight stratosphere. The 22-year-old Shahbazyan might eventually do just that, but Brunson delayed Shahbazyan’s accession to the upper reaches of the weight class on Saturday night. Brunson, who has only lost to the top fighters at middleweight, stopped a fatigued and seemingly mentally defeated Shahbazyan in the early moments of the third round of their matchup.
In the evening’s co-main event, Jennifer Maia took Joanne Calderwood’s presumed title fight opposite Valentina Shevchenko with a first-round armbar submission.